1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ornament assembly, and more particularly to a retractable ornament assembly for an exhaust pipe of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
To improve the appearance of a vehicle, ornaments are often mounted on the vehicle, such as hubcaps. In practice, there is an ornament assembly attached to the exhaust pipe vehicle to enhance the appearance of the whole vehicle. The conventional ornament assembly for the exhaust pipe comprises a propeller rotatably attached to the exhaust pipe. Consequently, the exhaust gases from the exhaust pipe will actuate the propeller to rotate, such that an attractive visual is provided.
However, the propeller of the conventional ornament assembly is located inside the exhaust pipe and is not moveably relative to the exhaust pipe. The visual effect of the conventional ornament assembly is not mobile, and so the ornamental effect provided by the conventional assembly is not enough. In addition, the propeller is easily deformed due to the high temperature of the exhaust gases, whereby the rotation speed of the propeller will be irregular and slow. The propeller with a low speed will influence the dispersal of the exhaust gases such that the gases may back up to the engine, causing inefficiency in the running of the engine.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an ornament assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide an ornament assembly for an exhaust pipe of a vehicle and that can provide an excellent mobile visual effect. The ornament assembly has a sleeve, an axle, a spring and a propeller. The sleeve is secured in an opening end of the exhaust pipe. The axle is moveably received in the sleeve. The axle has a first end exposed from the sleeve and a second end extending into the sleeve. The spring is received in the sleeve and is securely attached between the sleeve and the second end of the axle. The propeller is rotatably mounted on the first end of the axle. In such an arrangement, the propeller will rotate when the exhaust gases are emitted from the exhaust pipe, and the axle will move relative to the sleeve. The axle with the propeller will move outward and inward from the sleeve during movement of the vehicle, and the appearance of the vehicle is improved.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.